Poison Ivy....help

[looking good]

Hey ladies,

Does anyone have any good home remedies for curing poison ivy? Got some really nasty on my arm...bubble and is leaking. I am on the road traveling for work so going to the doctor is out of the question till next Monday.

Any suggestions...

Thanks,

Therese

 

[bitmover]

I have just recovered from poison oak, so my sympathies. The best thing I found was some stuff called Zanfel. They have it at the drugstore and it's very pricey ($40/tube) but so worth it -- instant relief. My husband and I both had it pretty bad and we went through at least 5 tubes of the stuff. Mine was so bad the dr. ended up putting me on prednisone. Good luck! Oh, the other thing that brought some relief is Cortaid Treatment Spray.

-Beth

 

[jgarr44460]

We have always used a brown soap you can find in the laundry soap area of the store. It is called Fels Napha (sp?) and it is a bar soap wrapped in paper. You just lather it up, apply to the poison ivy and let it dry. It drys out the poison ivy when the soap lather dries. It really does work.

 

[celestialtimes]

my husband said to get some flowers called spotted touch me nots...it has antioxidents that cure poison...you need to make it into creame by mashing it...or you can put it through the juicer...We have some growing on the farm...

But put it on the infected area for 5 to 7 days and you should start seeing an improvement in 3 days...and put it on twice a day....

My hubby is an herologist...he's getting ready to make me some for my poison oak...yeah fun...I feel for ya! Misery does not like company...even my dog has it...he gave it to me...

 

[jonahnah]

Oral steroids helped the most when I had poison oak that kept on spreading because I could not stop scratching! None of the topical treatments worked for me, but I tend to be highly reactive to insect bites, etc. I'm so sorry you're suffering but I hope you find relief soon.

 

[looking good]

Thanks ladies...the bubbles on my arm are broken so it keeps leaking fluided which is the reason I think it spreading. Do you think rapping it up in a bandage would be ok? Thanks for the suggestion I will try anything at this point!

Therese

 

[bitmover]

Therese, I don't know if it really spreads at that point or not, but given my experience, I would take all precautions. There seems to be mixed information on whether or not it spreads. Definitely don't re-use towels, and if you can handle it, wash your sheets every day too (are you staying in a hotel at this point?). I think wrapping it is not a bad idea.

-Beth

 

[ms71069]

I had an absolutely horrible case of poison ivy back in 2002 that went systemic and I was literally covered from head to toe. I had HUGE blister areas everywhere. The thing that REALLY helped me the most was getting a steroid injection from my doctor. At first he prescribed a dose pack which didn't help at all. I had relief from the injection within 24 hours.

The other thing to really help with the itching is to get a hair dryer, put it on the hottest setting you can stand, and hold it over top the areas. It releases the histamine and will be the best feeling of relief you will ever experience!!!

 

[Liann]

I so sympathize with you! My poison started over a week ago and I thought this past weekend that it was going to let up, but then it really went downhill this week. It's all over both arms now and I'm still getting new spots as of this morning! My sister just recommended this soak called "Domboro". I've had it on all night and I already see some drying up of my blisters, so maybe this will work. One thing I can tell you is DO NOT use hot water on your rash. Some people will say to scald it, but it just makes it itch all the worse. The best is cool water and a really strong soap, like Dawn dish soap. If it appears to be "spreading" than most likely you didn't get all of the oils off of your skin. I read that if you use a soap that isn't strong enough to remove the oils, it will actually just spread them around. I think that is what happened with me. Good luck!

 

[dragonf1y]

Technu is a wash and really helps with poison ivy.

 

[GraceNote]

i just had a horrible case last month, and I totally second the hair dryer for stopping the itch - hit it with the hot air until you can't stand it (it will feel like the itch is getting worse and worse until you think you're going to scream) and as soon as you take the heat off, the itch is GONE. Worked better than anything OTC that we tried!

My doctor told me that it will take 7-10 days to clear in a normal case no matter what I put on it. You may be able to dry the blisters, but there's no way to make the rash go away sooner without steroids, and even then, it's not an overnight 'cure'.

He said that the rash doesn't spread from itself (i.e. the blisters) but that there may actually still be poison ivy oil on your skin that hasn't broken into a rash, yet. (Different areas of your skin may be more or less reactive) When you apply lotions or whatever, you may actually be spreading the oils around, too.

So, he said that as soon as you see the rash anywhere, you know you've been exposed, so first do a super scrub job with an oil removing soap - poison ivy oils are very stubborn. He gave me samples of something called Tecnu -it had a pumice and clay kind of texture - that's a scrub that will absorb the oils and trap them to be rinsed off without spreading. Then, after you're 'clean', start treating the rash with something to prevent the itch. I ended up liking the blow dryer the best - the other things just didn't give me any relief!

I hope you feel better soon - poison ivy is horrible!!! I was totally surprised that they don't have a better treatment for it...you'd think someone would have come up with something already. I did have it for the full 10 days, though it certainly felt longer!

 

[hopefull]

I don't have a cure, but I do have a prevention. If you've been exposed wash your hands and arms or anywhere else that might have been touched with straight Dawn dishwashing liquid. Just lather up with as little water as you can possibly use and then rinse off. It breaks down the oil that causes the allergic reaction. I usually get poison ivy around my eyes from touching my face. I haven't had a bad case since I started using this precaution. I've done this several hours after being exposed and it's prevented an outbreak. Wish I could help you after the fact, aveeno is great to relieve the itch, and if it's really bad your doctor can give you a shot. The deal with poison ivy is you can continue to breakout for a week or so in new places. I'm itching with sympathy. Hope you get better soon.

 

[looking good]

Thanks everyone...I am still ozing!....and trying to stop spreading. I am afraid of working out and sweating and spreading it more. I think I will go have a another glass of wine to help the insides fight it too....

Ok.. I know that will not work but maybe I will not feel the itching so much.

 

[kathryn]

Thanks ladies...the bubbles on my arm are broken so it keeps leaking fluided which is the reason I think it spreading.

Poison ivy doesn't spread through the fluids (they are due to your body's immune response), so unless you still have some of the PI oil somewhere (on body, clothes, gardening tools, shoes, pets) it won't spread, and your fluids can't give it to someone else (I read up on PI a couple of years ago, because it's good to know your enemy, LOL!).

For home remedies, a poultice made of baking soda can help relieve the itch.
Good old calamine lotion helps (but it's a bright pink color, and not very subtle!)

Jewelweed is supposed to be an herbal remedy for it. I bought some jewelweed soap and cream and spray earlier this year, and am now using it on my PI (I have a patch on my arm...and it seems it's just going to be there, which is great news for me, as I have had systemic reactions to the stuff in the past years, and just touching it with my foot, for example, will have it showing up all over my body).

I have a big bandaid on mine. I think it's a good idea, to keep from scratching it (one potential bad consequence from PI is infection from scratching the open sores).

If you find you are getting more spots of PI (your body reacting to the initial contact, or still being exposed through contact with something carrying the oils), you might have to take prednisone (I've had to do that three years in a row), which will stem the body's immune response. Definitely consider it if the PI gets on your face, especially near the eyes.

 

[kathryn]

Thanks everyone...I am still ozing!....and trying to stop spreading. I am afraid of working out and sweating and spreading it more.

Sweating won't spread it, unless it somehow prompts your immune system to go into overdrive (which it might).